Apple II
Posted by musovern on Apr 3rd, 2018 in Apple, Vintage Computers | 0 comments
Apple II was the successor to the Apple 1, on which it was largely based. It was the very first commercial success of the Apple Computer Company. Because Steve Wozniak wanted to demonstrate his Breakout game with the new Apple II, he decided to add color, sound and minimum paddle support to the Apple 1 heir.
Apple II came with 4 KB RAM, but it was possible to add 4 KB or 16 KB RAM chips. Thus, the system could have memory in the following sizes: 4K, 8K, 12K,16K, 20K, 24K, 32K, 36K, or a full 48K. This was one of the strong points of the Apple II: from the beginning, it was designed with expansion in mind. The 8 expansion slots were further proof of that – users could expand their system easily, just by plugging cards into the slots.
Read More...TRS-80 Model 100
Posted by musovern on Apr 3rd, 2018 in TRS80, Vintage Computers | 0 comments
The Tandy 100 was actually a computer made in Japan by Kyocera. All the ROM programs were written by Microsoft, and even a few of them were written by Bill Gates (!) himself! These programs include a text editor, a telecommunication program, which uses the built-in modem (300 baud), and a rather good version of BASIC (no big surprise there).
Kyocera made this computer for three main companies: Tandy, Olivetti
(Olivetti M10) and NEC (PC 8201), these computers are the same except the case and some little differences in the programs and a few physical differences.
Read More...Apple IIc
Posted by musovern on Apr 3rd, 2018 in Apple, Vintage Computers | 0 comments
The Apple IIc was released on April 24, 1984, during an Apple-held event called Apple II Forever. With that motto, Apple proclaimed the new machine was proof of the company’s long-term commitment to the Apple II series and its users, despite the recent introduction of the Macintosh. The IIc was also seen as the company’s response to the new IBM PC, and Apple hoped to sell 400,000 by the end of 1984. While essentially an Apple IIe computer in a smaller case, it was not a successor, but rather a portable version to complement it. One Apple II machine would be sold for users who required the expandability of slots, and another for those wanting the simplicity of a plug and play machine with portability in mind.
Read More...Apple IIe
Posted by musovern on Apr 3rd, 2018 in Apple, Vintage Computers | 0 comments
After having sold more than 750,000 Apple II and II+ systems, making it one of the best-selling brands in the global computing market, Apple released an updated version of the II+ – the Apple IIe (‘e’ standing for enhanced). It also was a great success and was widely used in schools and was still used in 2000 in some places!
While retaining the previous model’s capabilities and software library, the enhanced version featured a revised logic board, keyboard and casing design. Since its launch back in 1977, the Apple had been revised 13 times, but not so drastically as this model. The IIe used only 1/4 as many integrated circuits as the II+. Its keyboard featured 4 cursor keys and a lockable lid.
Read More...Apple IIe Platinum
Posted by musovern on Mar 8th, 2018 in Apple, Vintage Computers | 0 comments
This was the last version of the Apple II series that was first released in April 1977 and finally discontinued in mid 1993, making it the only home computer in production for more than 15 years.
The major difference from the previous Apple IIe version is that the keyboard had been redesigned to be functionally equivalent to the keyboard of the Apple IIGS. The new keyboard incorporated an 18-key numeric keypad including two programmable function keys and cursor control keys.
The Platinum also had a new light grey-coloured case, a new motherboard design with a reduced chip count, and included a revised owner’s manual, a guide to AppleSoft BASIC and two double-sided training disks.
Finally, the IIe was shipped with the Apple 64 KB / 80-column upgrade card already installed.
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